UMDA emergency request to suspend proceedings OK’d

U.S. District Court for the NMI designated judge Consuelo B. Marshall has granted the emergency request of the United Micronesia Development Association Inc. to suspend the proceedings in UMDA’s lawsuit against its former president and chief executive officer David L. Wickline.

In granting UMDA’s motion for emergency stay, Marshall stayed all discovery in the lawsuit for 30 days, until Jan. 16, 2015, to permit UMDA to retain new counsel.

Marshall said her order, however, does not apply to the subject of Wickline’s motion to compel, which was set for hearing last Dec. 18 before U.S. District Court for the NMI Magistrate Judge Heather L. Kennedy.

The judge said when new counsel for UMDA appears, the court will set a status conference to reset the discovery completion, settlement conference, motion hearings, pretrial, and trial dates.

UMDA, through counsel Robert T. Torres, requested the court to stay the proceedings and vacate all scheduling deadlines pending resolution of their forthcoming objection to Kennedy’s granting of Wickline’s motion to disqualify counsel and pending UMDA’s retention of new trial counsel, if necessary.

Last Dec. 5, Kennedy granted Wickline’s motion to disqualify a Guam-based law firm of Calvo Fisher & Jacob LLP from representing UMDA in its lawsuit against him.

Kennedy said because the law firm former representations of Wickline are in large part related to the current case in which it representsa party adverse to him, the court must disqualify the law firm.

UMDA, through counsel Robert T. Torres, then filed the motion for emergency stay. Torres said the disqualification order has left UMDA without adequate representation, and UMDA cannot retain replacement counsel unless the case is stayed and the imminent discovery deadlines are vacated.

UMDA is suing Wickline “to protect its shareholders from dilution of their interests in the company, to recover substantial damages that UMDA discovered during the course of its investigation, and to stop Wickline from working behind the scene to undermine shareholder confidence.”

Wickline is also suing UMDA, seeking monetary damages. The court consolidated the cases. The court dismissed UMDA’s lawsuit. UMDA then filed an amended complaint.